Means for distributing measured quantities of material from a mass in bulk



Nove. l?, 1li-)25.-

G. L.. MOORE MEANS FOR DIsTRIBUTING MEASURED QUANTITIES op MATERIAL FROM A MAss IN BULK Filed May 29, 1922 Patented'Nov. 17, ynNrrr-:o STATES 1,sezo37 PATENT. OFFICE.

GEORGE L. MOORE, F. CHICAGO,A ILLINOIS.

' mEANs Eon DISTMBUTING mEAsUnED QUANTITIEB OE MATERIAL Enom A iuAssv 1N BULK. v

Application mea my 29, 1922. serial No. 564,305.l

To all 'whom t may concern.'

' Be it known that I, GEORGE L. MOORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have 5 invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Means for Distributing Measured Quantities of Material from a Mass in Bulk, and declare the followinfr'to be a full, clear, andA exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying/drawings, which form a part of this specification. The present invention has for its object to produce a simple and novelmeans Whereby lubricating material or other material in a fluid or semi-fluid yform may be delivered at any desired number of points simulta-A neously in predetermined quantities from a reservoir or other source of supply.

In automobiles and other places, for example, there are numbers of grease cups that should be filled from time to time, some of the grease cups being more or less inaccessible; so that on account of the number of cups that must be filled, and the greater or less diilicultyf ofaccess thereto, the vwork of lling a set of cups is not only disagreeablebut takes considerable time. By 'means of my invention, an entire series of grease cups, for example, may be supplied with predetermined amounts of grease by the sim ple act of operating a pressure device which will force the grease from a container through distributing lines extending to measuring devices located one at each of the grease cups. In the same way my improved apparatus may be used for distributing any other material which will flow -and, delivering it at points remote from eachother in predetermined quantities.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will .hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a 4View of' an apparatus arranged in accordance with my invention, adapted to deliver material in measured quantities at two separated points;

Fig. 2 is an axial section, on an enlarged scale, through one of the measuring devices Aand Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the parts of the measuring device in different positions, the device containing a charge of material to be delivered by the same.

Referring to Fig. 1 of -then drawing, 1 represents a container for the-material to be distributed havin` at one end a delivery outlet 2 and at the other end a pressure-producing device 3 provided with a handle 4 for operating the same. The parts heretofore described arc, old and well known and may comprise simply an ordinary grease gun, as shown. The delivery end of the container is connected to any d esired number of measuring and discharge devices such as shownin detail in Figs. 2 and 3. Referring to these figures, 5 represents a cylinder having v at one end a h'ead 6 through which extends an outlet passage 7 arranged at the axis of the cylinder. Arranged at right angles to and crossing the passage 7 4is a chamber 8 closed at one end and opening out through the side of the cylinder head at the other end.. The'outer end of the passage 7 may conveniently form the opening `in a nipple 9 by means of which the device may be secured to the element to whichv lubricating material is' to be applied. Similarly, the outer end of the chamber 8 may conveniently be the opening in a nipple 10 to which a coupling 11. from a supply pipe may be connected. The interior of the cylinder is connected with the chamber 8 at a point bc tween the open end of the chamber and the -central passage 7 by means of a port 12'. In

. sage 7 the valve being long enough so that when the reduced portion registers with the passage 7 another portion of the valve serves to close the port 12. If desired, a stop or pin 18 may be placed in the path of the valve ras the latter moves outwardly, so as to arrest communication between the ends of the discharge passage 7 as shown in Fig. 3. rlhe material will then How up through the port 12 and underneath the piston, forcing the piston up against the resistance offered by its spring 14 until a definite amount of the material has entered the cylinder as indicated by the broken lines 19 in Fig. 2. `When the pressure on the incoming` material is released the spring behind the valve will force the valve laterally into the position shown in Fig. 2, closing the port 12 and opening the passage 7; whereupon the spring behind the piston will force the latter toward its seat, causing the contents of the cylinder to flow through the discharge passage 7. The' spring behind the valve must of course be made strong enough to permit the spring to shift the valve into position to close the port l2 before the entire contents of the cylinder can be f orced backwards through the port bythe piston. The two springs will of course begin to act simultaneously when the pressure at the inlet side of the device is released, and therefore there may be some back How of material' from the cylinder through the port 12, but this is not objectionable as it is a factor that remains practically constant for any given material and may therefore be compensated for in designing the device.

It will be seen that as long as the pressure on the incoming material is maintained it will be impossible for the valve to open up the discharge passage and therefore it will be impossible for the user accidentally carelessly to do more than fill the cylinder to its capacity by maintaining pressure unduly long. In other words, the user cannot accidentally or carelessly discharge the whole contents of a large grease gun into a single cup by simply maintaining continued pressure on the grease gun since the measuring device will 'not receive any more grease after it has become filled until the pressure is relieved. Consequently the user need not take pains in operating the wheel or other actuating means by which the grease is forced out of the gun, because he can operate it just so far and no farther until it has been retracted so as to relieve the pressure and permit the measuring device or devices automatically to empty.

One end of the cylinder 5 of the measuring device may be closed by means of a deduit 2O whiclh is divided into two branches v 2l and 22; ie branch 21 leading to one of the measuring devices and the branch 22 to the other. The illustration is of course intended to be only in the nature of a diagram explaining the manner of connecting to a supply system any desired number of measuring devices each associated with an element to which material is to be delivered in measured quantities.

lVhile I have illustrated and described withparticularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements embodying the principle of my invention. Thus, for example, the cylinder With its piston and spring behind the piston constitutes, generally speaking, a chamber capable of expanding under internal pressure and of contracting when the-internal pressure is re1 lieved. Similarly, the sliding valve may be said to be representative of means generally for closing the outlet from the expansible chamber while the chamber is receiving a charge, and for closing the inlet to the expansible chamber and opening the coutlet therefrom in order to permit the expansible chamber to discharge its contents.

I claim:

1. In combination a member having a measuring chamber, an outlet from said chamber, an inlet passage communicating at the inner end with said chamber; a spring pressed piston in said chamber normally' tending to close communication between the' outlet and the inlet passage; alconduit connected to the outer end of said passage; means for forcing a lubricant under pressure through said conduit towards said passage and subsequently relieving the pressure and leaving the lubricant in the conduit free to be pushed backward in the same; and means associated with said member, including a spring pressed part exposed to pressure in said passage, for closing the outlet when the lubricant enters said passage and opening the communication between the passage and said chamber and subsequent-ly, when the pressure is increased, causing the piston to open the communication between the outlet and the inlet passage to the chamber and, when the pressure is relieved, causing the lubricant to be forced back out of said passage into the conduit and the outlet to be opened and communication between said passage and the chamber to be closed.

2. In combination ya member having a measuring chamber, an outlet from said chamber, and an inlet passage communicating at the inner end with said chamber; a conduit connected to the outer end of said passage; a: spring-pressed piston in said chambernormally tending to close the outlet and the inlet passage; means for forcing a lubricant under pressure through said conduit toward said passage and subsequently relieving the pressure and leaving the lubrlcant in the conduit freeto be pushed backward, in the same; and means .associated with said member including a springpressed part exposed to pressure in saidplvms-v sage, for first closing said outlet when the lubricant enters said passage and opening the communication between the passage and said chamber' and subsequently, when" the' pressure is increased, causing the piston to open the outlet and the inlet passagel to the chamber and, Whenithe pressure is relieved, causing the l bricant to be forced back out of said passage into the conduit and the said outlet to be opened and communication between said passage and the said chamber to be closed. ,i y

In testimony whereof, I sign this specication. p

GEORGE L. MOORE. 

